VA launches new online college comparison tool

Feb. 5, 2014 - 11:17AM
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The Veterans Affairs Department has unveiled a new way for student veterans to quickly get important information about schools they’re considering attending.

The online GI Bill Comparison Tool can be searched by school and details whether a school participates in the Yellow Ribbon program and has agreed to the White House’s Principles of Excellence for military education, as well as how many GI Bill beneficiaries the school enrolls.

The site includes academic success and cost data for institutions, such as graduation rates, loan default rates and average borrowing costs, although the data is not limited to student veterans.

However, it provides some specific information for vets on how much of a housing allowance they can expect to get from the Post-9/11 GI Bill, based on their length of service and military status, as well as the location of the school.

Outside groups applauded the new tool.

“In the past, veterans who wanted to use their GI Bill educational benefits would have to search through three different government agencies to find all of the information they can now find in a few simple clicks on the new Department of Veterans Affairs comparison tool,” Veterans of Foreign Wars National Commander William A. Thien said in a written statement.